Fly, Hike, Boat

Fly, Hike, Boat

If you are up for an adventure with a sightseeing flight, hiking and getting on a boat all in one day, we have just the trip for you! After checking in with us or a water taxi company, we start our flight with a quick look at the Spit, Grewingk Glacier, the lake it feeds and icebergs floating away. We’ll point out the destination of your hike for the day, a recently installed boat dock at Halibut Cove Lagoon. Then we’ll be landing on China Poot Lake, located in the shadows of a 2430 foot peak by the same name.

We will part ways at the Public Use Cabin – after that the trail is yours to discover. To make sure you know what to expect, we took lots of pictures and would like to offer a few key points about this hike.

About a hundred yards from the cabin, a wooden sign orients you. For hike straight to the boat pickup, turn left. (You will see a bridge to the right, there is a camp site a quarter mile past, see below for more info)

In a few spots the trail has washouts and a creek without a bridge. Watch your step and be ready for a jump across a little bit of running water.

There are a few forks in this trail: one to Coalition Loop Trail (to the left) and just past it, Moose Valley trail. Both have dramatic signs warning you that trails beyond are not maintained – and we can not recommend you venture on these trails on the short day excursion like this.

The second fork has a sign that some might find confusing. For an uncomplicated trip to the lagoon, follow the arrow pointing left to the Ranger Station. However, to see this arrow you would have to look back at the sign after having passed it. Luckily, you should be alerted by the red Moose Valley Trail warning sign and are not likely to miss this turn.

Upon your arrival at the Ranger Station, please wait for the water taxi pickup at the dock. The Halibut Cove Lagoon is tidal, and is not accessible by boat with water level below 6′. Kachemak Bay swings in excess of -5′ and +23′ and we will schedule your pickup accordingly. However, if you miss the boat, it might not be able to come back for you until the next day. Cell phone service is very spotty – AT&T phones have been able to connect a call once in a while at China Poot Lake, other cell service providers seem to pickup a text message in a few spots on the trail but sending one out would be very unlikely. A pickup back at the lake or in the Lagoon by the float plane is possible, but will cost extra.

We can always modify this trip to adjust your hiking time and even include an overnight – tent camp site is available at the Lake or you could stay in the cabin, space would have to be reserved through Alaska State Parks website

This is a hike you would be doing on your own. Trail is marked fairly well but you do need to be prepared for the distance and grades, possibility of encountering wildlife and pay attention to avoid getting lost as there are some forks in these trails.